Islamabad:
On Friday, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on National Food Security stressed the importance of investigating the causes behind the rise in sugar prices and exploring the possible market stabilization measures and consumer relief.
The Committee met here Syed Tariq Hussain in the president.
The member of the Zulfiqar Ali Committee raised the issue of sugar prices and urged the president to include him in the agenda of the next meeting. He said industry had raised 300 billion profits, while consumers have suffered losses.
“Farmers and consumers have undergone losses. [meeting’s] Agenda, “said Ali. Later, the Committee decided to include the question of the price of sugar on the agenda of his next meeting.
The committee discussed the problems faced by tobacco producers. The Committee was informed that officials of the Federal Board of Return (FBR) had been appointed to 23 tobacco companies to monitor tobacco. The president highlighted the importance of increasing tobacco cultivation.
“If we look at the region, the world went forward at the level of politics,” Tariq told the committee. “The world has traveled a long way in the use of drones and other technologies in the agricultural sector,” he said. “We need support in the development of policies.”
The Committee was informed that the General Sales Tax (TPS) was imposed on cigarettes, not to tobacco. It has also been informed that around 949 million rupees allocated to research and development remain unused due to the position of vacant director in Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB).
The president asked the ministry to accelerate the appointment to all vacant positions to the PTB and its related committees so that the unanswered development and reform initiatives can move forward without any delay.
The meeting has been updated in key areas, including the current tobacco tax policy, the framework for collecting and using the CESS fund in the past 10 years, the Social Responsibility initiatives for PTB companies (CSR) and the potential introduction of a harvest insurance scheme for tobacco producers.
The Committee was informed that the PTB had formed committees to supervise the regulation of CESS, CSR programs and development activities. However, the Committee expressed its concerns concerning the exclusion of tobacco producers from these organizations.
In response, the Committee ordered the ministry to ensure that representatives of tobacco producers are included in all relevant committees, stressing that significant reform and facilitation measures could not succeed without their direct involvement.
The Committee also organized a detailed discussion on donkey reports sold in Islamabad, seriously expressing public health risks and regulatory negligence.
The ministry was invited to approach the issue with the relevant authority and report at the next meeting.
During a presentation of Croplife Pakistan, the Committee was informed that the organization’s mission was to support farmers in the production of enough food to meet the needs of a growing population thanks to access to innovative agricultural technologies. (With application input)
